In order to ensure that players can always find matches, especially while leveling to 40, NPCs will now be automatically added to battles at intervals if a player cannot be found.

The system will pick a level-appropriate NPC to add to the match if a player was not found in a certain amount of time. In the case of 2v2 and Juggernaut, 1 NPC will be added at a time until the match is full.

NPCs level 37+ will not be added to battles, so players near/at max level should see less NPCs than lower level players

NPC AI has been improved to make better strategic decisions than before. Notably they can now heal allies and will generally try to attack the more appropriate target in 2v2s.

A number of NPCs had their level updated to make sure enough NPCs exist at every level.

Limited Rare automatic shipments

Non-Seasonal Limited Rares will now automatically be restocked every few weeks if depleted. Check NPCs with limited quantity items such as Charfade or Dage to see when the next restock will happen.

Minor Item Changes

Cryo Crafts renamed to Blue and Red Cryocrafts for clarity in the item finder

Dragon Buster Armor now defined as “Rare Promo”

Hiding many staff/unavailable items from item finderItems only attainable through missions hidden from item finderAdding “Battle Drop” categorization to items that were not displaying correctly in item finder

Balance

Juggernaut

Dev Note: We undershot Juggernaut matching, especially since Underdog is now a thing. We want to keep Underdog to balance out getting, say, two level 32s in one match and two level 27s in the next. This way we can keep the difficulty of each match relatively equal while keeping the level ranges large enough to try and get matches in a reasonable time. This gives us a lot more balancing levers to get Juggernaut battles in a good spot.

Dev Note: We were hearing a lot of feedback on the Legendary Rank system, namely that it provides too much power, and that 10 Ranks were generally worth more than 1 regular level. With these changes we intend to bring down the overall power given by Ranks, which should also even out the 10 ranks to 1 level ratio.

Primary Damage: 3 → 1 per point

Sidearm Damage: 4 → 2 per point

Auxiliary Damage: 4 → 2 per point

Defense: 3 → 1 per point

Resistance: 3 → 1 per point

Robot Damage: 4 → 2 per point

Medical Mastery: 2 → 1 per point

Energy Efficiency: 1 per point (unchanged)

NPC Crusher: 2 → 1 per point

NPC Armor: 2 → 1 per point

Price to unlock slots: 15k → 10k Credits, 250 → 175 Varium

First Strike

Lower level players are now more likely than before to go first, compensating for Underdog Support buffs.